


True or False

by NeuroWriter14



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Canon typical mentions of violence, Do not repost, Inspired by a line in Mockingjay, M/M, Physical and mental, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeuroWriter14/pseuds/NeuroWriter14
Summary: While Will and Hannibal recover, Will convinces Hannibal to play a game of sorts. Hannibal, unable to deny him, agrees. Secrets are revealed, questions are answered, and feelings are explored.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 20
Kudos: 133





	True or False

Will groaned. It wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable, it was that he had been in it for far too long. They had been in Cuba a month at this point, enough for Will to be able to move around more. Hannibal as well. Though Hannibal shouldn't move as much as Will did, and only acquiesced to Will's request because it was Will who gave it. The other was abnormally quiet after Will pulled them from the ocean, only really talking to give Will directions first on the stitching of his abdomen and then directing him to a marina where Will found a rather familiar boat. He didn't know how Hannibal managed to find Will's boat, much less coordinate its retrieval from Italy given that he was in BSHCI. He suspected Chiyoh had a hand in it, but Will never saw her. 

They sailed from Maryland to Cuba, Will half delirious with pain and Hannibal asleep for most of it. He managed to rouse the other long enough to figure out where to go once they arrived in Cuba. Luckily, Hannibal was richer than god and had a house with a dock where Will could leave the boat. He dragged the two of them up the dock and into the house using the key Hannibal had left hidden. 

The other had slept through the whole day after arriving, and Will, able to stay away for longer, couldn't bring himself to leave Hannibal's side. He found himself sleeping in the same bed, far enough away that they wouldn't touch, but close enough that if Hannibal needed something, he was there. 

When Hannibal began to wake up more, Will expected the other to send him away. But he never did. 

Even still, with Will able to leave the house for food, he couldn't stay standing for long. He would always find himself back in that bed, next to the abnormally quiet Hannibal Lecter. He was going to go insane with the quiet, with the lack of movement, with the feeling of being in purgatory. He truly didn't know where they went from here. He could see two possible futures, and truthfully he only wanted one of them. 

"Will," Hannibal's voice was gentle next to him. "I'd like to walk." 

Will pushed himself up from the bed without answering, moving around it to Hannibal's side. He helped the other sit up first, making certain that Hannibal could take the weight and then to stand. Their hands were clasped together with Will hovering at the other's shoulder. Together, they slowly walked from the room. Will watched Hannibal's face with every step, making certain the other was comfortable as they walked. Not that Hannibal would complain. He would tolerate the pain, just as he tolerated it the night they escaped Muskrat farm. The night Hannibal saved him and took him from Muskrat farm. 

Will took them to the study that was down the hall, set up very similar to Hannibal's office back in Baltimore. The room overall was dark but faced east so with the curtains drawn back, it allowed in a rather peaceful morning sun. The walls were lined with bookshelves containing books in various forms. There was a drawing desk near one of the wall-length windows which had yet to be used, but he assumed there would be papers scattered across it when Hannibal was well again. Two leather chairs were facing each other, and part of Will wondered if Hannibal had planned for him all along. 

"I don't want to return to bed quite yet," Hannibal murmured and Will nodded. He lowered Hannibal into one of the chairs and then walked over to the curtains and drew them back, lighting the room.

Hannibal was paler than normal with dark circles under his eyes. His frame was thinner, likely due to not eating much. But his hair was longer and Will saw that as an upside. 

After a moment, he settled into the chair across from Hannibal, wincing at the pain in his leg. He should have probably looked for a cane, but he didn't. Hannibal watched him closely, the two of them sitting in silence. 

"Why are you here, Will?" 

"Why are you?" 

Hannibal's hands twitched on the arms of the chair, as though he were trying to shrug, but didn't. "I have nowhere else to go." 

"You have everywhere else to go." 

Hannibal smirked slightly and Will's mind eased. "As do you." 

Will shrugged. 

Hannibal eyed him carefully. "You're here. Yet you feel a million miles away." 

"So do you," Will whispered. 

His eyes dropped and he found himself staring at the floor. But soon the silence became suffocating, and he couldn't handle it anymore. 

"Let's do something." 

Hannibal looked back at him, warily, then looked down at himself. "There's not much we can do." 

"Play a game with me." Will had no idea where this idea came from, but now he couldn't let it go. The silence was too much, the distance was too much. This was promising to rectify both. 

"What did you have in mind?" Despite Hannibal's obvious reluctance, it seemed he was willing to go along with Will's plan. Just as he always was. It had been Will's idea to run away. It was Will's idea to break him out of BSHCI. It was Will's idea to go after the Dragon. And every time, Hannibal went where he led. Just as Will followed Hannibal across the world on the same boat that was now docked outside their house. 

"It's easy. I ask you something, and you confirm if it's true or false. No other explanation. And then you ask me something." Will cocked his head slightly. "No lying." 

Hannibal's eyes narrowed but eventually, he nodded once. "Very well." 

"You can go first." Will leaned back in his chair, waiting. This had the potential to be incredibly bad, but he didn't think so. 

"You lied to Jack and Alana." 

It wasn't a question, and even still, Hannibal knew the answer already. He supposed that was the point. He knew the answer, so he would know if Will was going to lie. 

"True." 

Hannibal nodded, satisfied. 

"Your favorite dessert is sanguinaccio dolce." That wasn't a question either, but Will knew Hannibal's answer. 

"True." The other looked him over carefully before looking out the window. "You built that boat yourself." 

"True." Will had spent hours on that boat and had started it well before Hannibal was ever in his life. It was his side project when his mind was too full and his hands too empty. He built it on the floor of his house in Wolf Trap and then in the barn behind his house when the pieces began to come together and grow larger. "You had Chiyoh bring it back." 

Hannibal's lips twitched. "True." 

They continued like that for days, as Hannibal began to gain back his range of motion. Eventually, the other insisted on taking over the cooking himself since he was able to stand long enough to do so. Will relented.

"You hate my cooking," Will said, leaning against the counter. 

"False." Hannibal stirred something, Will only knew it was a sauce, in the pan in front of him. "It could use some improvement." Will saw Hannibal smirk as he spoke. "You like my cooking." 

"False. And true." Will pushed himself off the counter, knowing he was about to boost the already considerable ego of Hannibal Lecter. "You're the best chef I've ever known." 

Hannibal smirked again and Will could feel the other's eyes trail him as he left the kitchen.

* * *

"You called Garret Jacob Hobbs." 

They were sitting in the study again, two months after arriving, both nursing their first drink of alcohol since arriving in Cuba. Will's whiskey was balanced on the arm of the chair, his hand barely holding on to it. Hannibal, on the other hand, kept his drink either near his mouth or balanced on his knee. He had just finished a drink when Will asked his not question and slowly lowered the glass back to balance on his knee once more. 

"True." The other's gaze became almost uncomfortably heavy as his eyes settled on Will. He could see the other's question forming behind his eyes, careful to keep it within the parameters of their game to keep Will from lying. Not that he did anymore. What else did he have to lose other than Hannibal himself? "That day, I told Garrett Jacob Hobbs two words; 'they know.' When you called that night, you told me two words; 'they know.' You knew that's what I told him." 

"False." Will's answer was barely above a whisper. "I just wanted you to run." 

"No explanations." Hannibal's voice was tight, reeling through a million emotions.

Just like Will was. 

"You killed Abigail as punishment." Will couldn't bring his voice to be louder than a whisper. 

"True." Hannibal's voice was tight. "You didn't know Jack and Alana would come for me." 

"True." Will swallowed his emotions, his chest aching. "You saved me at Muskrat Farm."

"True." He could tell that Hannibal wanted to say more. But he didn't. "You still want to kill me." 

Will's lips twitched upward at that one.

"False."

* * *

"You sent Randall Tier to kill me." 

"False." Hannibal paused for a moment, staring into the din of the living room with a book resting on his knee just below the lamp he had set up to read under. "You're not hiding from yourself anymore." 

"True." Will was lying on his back, tinkering with something that would ultimately go nowhere. But it was nice to have something to do with his hands. Especially now that he could lie on the floor and stand back up. "You knew we'd end up here." 

"False." There was something else in Hannibal's voice though. Something that told Will that he truly didn't _know_ if they would end up here. But he hoped. "You were jealous of Bedelia." 

Will was glad for the low light so Hannibal couldn't see him flush at that. But he probably knew he did anyway. "True." He felt himself smirk, easily coming up with a retort. "You were jealous of Molly." 

Hannibal sniffed, returning to his book. "True."

* * *

Will hauled part of the engine from the boat, resolved to tinker with it to find the source of the clinking noise that had been there for a few trips out now. Some were fishing trips. One was disposal. It was the first time they'd hunted together, finding rather easy prey at a nightclub. The man had fancied himself god's gifts to women. Shame he became more of a reward for the devil. 

Hannibal walked down the dock to Will's side and Will could feel the weight of his gaze as his eyes roamed over Will's shirtless form. He knew Hannibal's wandering gaze found the scar on his abdomen, as when he looked over, the other was still focused on it. 

"Your hair is longer," Hannibal commented, finally tearing his gaze away from Will's abdomen to look at his curls. He hadn't cut his hair since the day before he and the Dragon planned Hannibal's escape and as a result, his hair was far more unruly than normal. It reminded Will a bit of his teenage years and then his time in BSHCI, but neither bothered him. Those felt like a lifetime ago, or like an experience that happened to someone else. 

"You like it." 

"True." 

Will glanced over at Hannibal, who was leaning against the boat, with a smirk on his face. 

The other's skin was less pale and he no longer had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was even longer and Will knew the wound on his abdomen was mostly healed. 

"You have grey in your hair," Will noted allowed, seeing Hannibal's roots coming through. He assumed the other dyed it and somehow managed to keep that up in BSHCI. Given how much free reign Alana gave him, he really shouldn't be surprised. 

"You like it." 

Will smirked again, looking back over to Hannibal once more. "True."

* * *

"You liked the hunt. The kill." 

"True," Will whispered. "You liked watching me kill." 

"True."

* * *

Hannibal directed Will's movements, letting Will do most of the world for their dinner that night. It wasn't the first time they had made dinner together, but it certainly was the first where Hannibal surrendered most of the control to Will. 

"You didn't love your wife." 

Will wondered how long Hannibal had been circling that one as he very carefully stirred the pot in front of him. Too much or too little and the whole dish would be ruined. 

"True." Will was silent for a long moment, surprised to not feel smugness radiating off of Hannibal. "You still want-" He paused, thinking over his words more. "Need to kill Alana." 

"True." Hannibal moved closer and Will's whole body tensed. Not because Hannibal was closer, but because Will wanted him to be. "You want to help." 

Will looked over at him, locked in his amber gaze. "True."

* * *

"You've never been in love." Hannibal's voice was quiet behind him. 

"False." Will accepted the offered drink over his shoulder where he was staring out the window, watching the ocean roll in the moonlight. "You killed Sutcliffe because of me."

"True." Hannibal was still directly behind him. 

The two of them had recently returned from a rather risky trip to the US, but for Will it incredibly rewarding. It resulted in two things for Will. One, a debt he still wanted to pay. Two, Winston was currently settled against his leg, and Will's free hand was stroking over his head. 

"You wanted to kill Bedelia." 

"True."

* * *

Will was staring at the dark ceiling above him, watching shadows flicker. He couldn't sleep and he knew Hannibal couldn't either judging by his breathing and the unnatural stillness next to him. Not that Hannibal was one to toss and turn during the night. That was Will. But the stillness next to him was due to someone purposefully keeping himself still. 

Will opened his mouth and then closed it again and then opened it once more. 

"Ask," Hannibal said next to him, his voice soft. 

"You love me." 

Hannibal was silent for a moment and Will wondered if he would even answer. But then, very softly, Hannibal let out a small breath. "True." 

Will let out a breath, his hand shifting under the blanket between them until he brushed along the back of Hannibal's. For a moment he was frozen until Hannibal's hand moved, lacing their fingers together. This was Hannibal's question, and in answer, Will squeezed his fingers.

* * *

Will let his hand drift upward, grasping Hannibal's shoulder. The other knew he was there, having come from behind him. Hannibal was currently drawing, having been focused at his desk for hours now, his brow furrowed and his eyes intense. Will had never seen Hannibal begin a drawing before, he had only seen it halfway through or toward the end. So it was interesting to see the intensity with which Hannibal focused, pulling an image from his mind and onto the paper. 

Hannibal's hand stopped mid-stroke and Will could see his own face staring up at him from the page. It wasn't the first time Hannibal had drawn him, but in this picture, he was clearly asleep. It was likely one that Hannibal conjured from his own mind from one of the many mornings in which he woke up before Will. 

The other looked up at him from where he was sitting and Will was suddenly launched back into the past at another point where Hannibal was drawing and Will had watched. He should have done so many things differently then. But he had his chance now. 

"You'd kiss me if I let you." Will's voice was barely above a whisper. 

"You want to kiss me." 

"You aren't playing the game fairly," Will said, shifting his hand from Hannibal's shoulder to the back of his neck. 

"No," Hannibal answered, standing. "But you don't need an answer. I do." 

Will stepped closer, invading the last of Hannibal's space. "True." 

Hannibal was the first to lean in, brushing their lips together lightly. And that was all Will needed to be able to kiss him back. They leaned against each other, arms wrapping around the other to pull them closer. Will's tongue brushed over the seam of Hannibal's lips and the other opened to him immediately. Hannibal's hand fisted in his hair, tugging at the curls that Will was still letting grow out. 

Eventually, they pulled apart, the need for breath separating them. 

"You love me," Hannibal said his thumb stroking over the shell of Will's ear. "True or false?"

"True."

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me on [Tumblr](https://neurowriter14.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NWriter14)


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